The Al-Hilal machine goes rolling on after the Saudi Pro League leaders defeated Al-Tai 2-1 on Friday to record a 16th successive victory in all competitions.

It was a strange game in that the Riyadh giants dominated but were never able to kill off their hosts, for whom goalkeeper Moataz Al-Baqawi was in fine form.

In the end, it did not matter as Hilal, threatening to pull away at the top of the table, went at Al-Tai from the start.

In the 15th minute, Kalidou Koulibaly’s smart half volley from outside the area drew a good diving save from Al-Baqawi and three minutes later the in-form Aleksandar Mitrovic should have opened the scoring.

A delightful volleyed through ball from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic freed the former Fulham forward who, with just the goalkeeper to beat, dragged his shot wide.

He was relieved in the 20th minute when a classic combination for both Al-Hilal and Saudi Arabia swung into action. Salman Al-Faraj crossed from the right and there was Salem Al-Dawsari to send a flying side-footed volley high into the net from near the penalty spot. The two club legends embraced in celebration of a beautiful and important goal.

Ten minutes later, Hilal were given a penalty after Ibrahim Al-Nakhli handled a shot from Mitrovic. The Serbian stepped up to grab his 14th league goal of the season and to get on the score sheet for the seventh successive game, a feat last achieved in Saudi Arabia in 2012 by Brazilian striker Wesley.

Five minutes before the break, the ball fell to Ruben Neves just outside the area and the Portuguese star curled home only for the goal to be ruled out due to an offside in the buildup, though it was a very tight call.

And it became painful for Hilal deep into added time thanks to another spectacular strike. Salman Al-Muwashar was twisting and turning in the middle of the Hilal half as he attempted to protect the ball from a group of blue-shirted players and then, suddenly, Tariq Abdullah stepped forward to side-foot a looping shot that beat the jumping Yassine Bounou, not far off his line on the edge of the 6-yard box.

Instead of 3-0 at the break, it was 2-1 and a game that had been dominated by the 18-time champions was suddenly looking very interesting indeed.

Al-Hilal were determined to make it as predictable as possible and within five minutes of the restart, Mitrovic’s half volley stung the hands of the goalkeeper. Moments later, a delicate chip from Neves just cleared the bar to land on the roof of the net.

Nobody will ever know how it was not 3-1 three minutes before the hour. Neves curled a delightful cross into the area. Milinkovic-Savic’s volley came back off the inside of the post but there was Al-Dawsari to react quickly and drive the rebound toward the top. Somehow, however, Al-Baqawi got there to tip the ball over.

The goalkeeper ensured that Hilal did not get a third goal but they picked up the points nonetheless.

Elsewhere, Al-Taawoun went third behind Al-Nassr with a 4-1 win at home to Al-Fayha, the losers perhaps tired after their Asian Champions League heroics in midweek when they won 4-1 at the Uzbekistan home of Pakhtakor to progress to the knockout stage.

RIYADH: Al-Ettifaq manager Steven Gerrard said it was “extremely nice” to have Moussa Dembele back in Roshn Saudi League action after his No. 9 made a substitute return following knee surgery.
The former Fulham, Celtic, Atletico Madrid and Lyon striker played the final 20 minutes of the 0-0 draw at Al-Shabab on Thursday night. The game at the new Al-Shabab Club Stadium in Riyadh saw Ettifaq finish with 10 men following Demarai Gray’s red card, while the hosts ended with nine after Ever Banega and Gustavo Cuellar were both dismissed.
While frustrated not to have taken all three points — Dembele nearly made the perfect return with a late header that went over the bar — Gerrard said that having his top scorer back was a boost. Al-Ettifaq have failed to score in five of the eight games since the French striker last played, drawing three and losing two.
“It’s extremely nice to see Moussa Dembele back, extremely nice,” Gerrard said.
“When we get Moussa back up in a better place physically and get more minutes into him then I’m sure we’ll carry more of a threat. Moussa Dembele brings goals and assists. The good thing is we have him back. He’s a goalscorer. We’ve missed that quality.”
The former Rangers manager’s comments on the return of Dembele, who netted seven goals in eight Roshn Saudi League matches before his injury at the beginning of October, were echoed by teammate Jack Hendry.
“It’s very big for us to have him back. He’s a figurehead for us up front,” the defender said.
“He’s going to be the key to us winning games and kind of turning our fortunes in the right direction. Moussa’s a proven goalscorer. I played with him at Celtic and I know what he can bring to a team, so to have a figurehead like him up front is going to be important for us moving forward.”
Dembele said: “We will continue to work hard to improve our finishing.”
Ahead of weekend fixtures, Al-Ettifaq — who next play Al-Taawoun at home on Saturday, Dec. 16 — sit eighth in the league table.
“The game as it progressed was certainly there for the taking,” Gerrard said. “When we had a man advantage, we made a tactical change to take a defender off and bring Moussa on to be more aggressive and more opportunities came. We’re a bit frustrated we haven’t gone and taken the big opportunity to go and win the game.
“We’ll continue to grind until we find our rhythm and confidence in the final third, but we want to challenge individuals and the collective to bring more in the final third.”